Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

This highly obscure British horror outing caught my attention at the time of its release, when one reviewer described it as "LOVE STORY meets TALES FROM THE CRYPT, with lots of unintentional laughs." Anna (Susan Hampshire), fleeing a stifling marriage meets and falls in love with a moody lighthouse keeper named Hugh (Michael Petrovich). Jetting off to Scotland for a romantic getaway, Hugh inexplicably croaks while capering on the shore. Pronounced dead by the local country doctor, Hugh inexplicably returns to life the next day. Setting up house in Jersey, Anna is so ebullient over Hugh's return that she neglects to notice that he's strangely silent, has no pulse and is rapidly decaying! When Hugh's bible-thumping brother (Frank Finlay) tries to disrupt this most unnatural household, he is dealt with rather severely. Alas, this literal "dead-end" relationship can only end in one way. As its title suggests, this project doesn't know if it wants to be a romance or a horror film. It's too leisurely paced for those out for cheap thrills, and the largely female audiences for love stories will be put off by the final scenes where Hugh begins to resemble day-old pudding. The "Monkey's Paw" variant storyline is likewise beyond threadbare. Filmed for little to no money (cast members were allegedly told to bring three changes of clothing to serve as their wardrobe), the fact that so few people seem to notice the couple's predicament seems dictated by budget more than anything else. The film does work as an unintentional parody of feminine denial and loyalty to "strong, silent" types. Now out on Redemption DVD sans their usual busty models gracing the cover, viewers can now examine this most unusual and heartfelt misfire at their leisure.

This is a very strange and little-seen film that has been unavailable for a very long time, so I applaud the decision to finally release it on DVD. Poorly received at the time of it's release, there were a few TV screenings in the late 1970's before it was all but lost - until this new edition. Susan Hampshire plays Anna, a woman who suffers such profound grief at the death of her lover that she somehow manages to bring him back from the dead. She doesn't do it intentionally though, and is at first thrilled, but then shocked and bewildered by his seemingly miraculous return. Unfortunately, although he can move about he's still dead in every other respect, so things can only go downhill for poor Anna.

I don't know how Redemption are treating the release in the way of extras, but at least they have managed to avoid putting a naked glamour model of the front cover for once. Its obscure status is probably because it's not particularly attention grabbing and moves at a very slow crawl for most of it's running time. Which is a pity because if you allow yourself to go with the very leisurely pace, it's actually an effective little story. It also has a great, mournful theme song that could only have been concocted in the 1970's!

Filmed outdoors in lots of cold and grey coastal locations, the film is really a bleak love story and probably bored a lot of people to death at the time, although it does sustain an effective mood. The chilly outdoor photography perfectly suits the remoteness and distance of the bizarre happenings from normal life, but be aware that the story is very slight and the material is handled in such an understated way that it feels more like a TV drama production than a feature film. However, I like it very much. Competently made and with good performances, it's a lot better than some of the other trash that passes for "cult" fan viewing.